Need inputs on Essays with sub-sections

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Hi All,

For essays with multiple questions are we expected to draft a single response OR multiple responses, each of these responses answering a specific question.

For example, Stern Essay 1
(a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position?
(b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life?
(c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal?

Are we expected to answer a,b & c separately i.e a)...... b)..... C)....
OR
Is it a single response that answers all three questions.

Appreciate your help on this.

Regards
Shyam

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by essaysnark » Sun Oct 30, 2011 11:04 am
Great question shyamprasadrao! This also comes up with Haas essays too, and a few others as well.

In these cases, you would want to write a single essay to a single question - even when there are multiple parts. If you break it down to an A, B, and C section, then it ends up feeling choppy. You want to create an integrated presentation, with polish, and one that flows for the reader. So, use a formal introduction, include transitions between the sections to bridge from one to the next, and don't forget a conclusion at the end to wrap it all together.

Note that Yale specifically asks for four short answers for their main career goals essay - even though those four questions are essentially the same as what many schools ask to be covered in a single essay. In the case of Yale, then, you'd want to have them separated (obviously).

Basically you should follow the cue of the school - if it's a single essay, then it needs to be presented as a cohesive whole, with each of the parts addressed within in an integrated fashion.

Hope this helps!
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by shyamprasadrao » Sun Oct 30, 2011 4:38 pm
Thanks Essaysnark.

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by throughmba » Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:11 pm
shyamprasadrao wrote:Hi All,

For essays with multiple questions are we expected to draft a single response OR multiple responses, each of these responses answering a specific question.

For example, Stern Essay 1
(a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position?
(b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life?
(c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal?

Are we expected to answer a,b & c separately i.e a)...... b)..... C)....
OR
Is it a single response that answers all three questions.

Appreciate your help on this.

Regards
Shyam
Hi

Any essay or essay part finds its way in the word limit. The essay part should be answered as a whole depending on how related each part is.

If the related parts are not related then use the general structure of essays. First a start(may be a catch phrase sentence).Then there should be the show in the middle part. Finally a line or two to finish with a conclusion.

In my opinion I would never answer them as one single answer. I would, to the least, use three paragraphs. Thats how we do it.
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by Jon@Admissionado » Mon Oct 31, 2011 10:53 pm
I'm gonna side with essaysnark on this one. First of all, chopping it up into small sections will end up sounding poor most of the time. Second of all, although they give sections in the question to emphasize what should be answered, there is a very smooth chain of logic between them, and all is interconnected anyhow. Finally, you can even mix up the order of the answer if it is best for you, as long as you answer all the sections.
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by apphelp » Tue Nov 01, 2011 11:31 am
shyamprasadrao wrote:Hi All,

For essays with multiple questions are we expected to draft a single response OR multiple responses, each of these responses answering a specific question.

For example, Stern Essay 1
(a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position?
(b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life?
(c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal?

Are we expected to answer a,b & c separately i.e a)...... b)..... C)....
OR
Is it a single response that answers all three questions.

Appreciate your help on this.

Regards
Shyam
Hi Shyam,

This particular question ( with its 3 subsections) is generally a single question in most schools i.e. Why MBA, Why now and Why school ABC...

We would recommend structuring this essay into 5 paras:

Para 1: intro
Para 2 : Your journey till your current position
Para 3: Why MBA now
Para 4: Short term and long term goal with something on how NYU will help.
Para 5: A few lines concluding the essay

Hope this helps.

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